Latex is more a term more used in recent years, well within the time line, but not much a lot before then. There was only a racing tire of different weights and purposes, but only the heaviest training tires had thicker tubes that held air longer. Most of the tubes that were less porous came after the war, when butyl or synthetics came on the public market. Before then the tubes were different colors, but we referred to all the tubes as natural rubber. Latex just wasn't in the vernacular. Before the war, the tires and tubes just 'were' and no one gave it a thought. Premade patches weren't used, too thick, and unstretchy. Everyone cut old tubes and made a square or rectangular patch to soften the contact to casing. Then the patch was glued upside down on a surface, cleaned and glued with several coats of rubber cement. The same was done to the tube after gently sanding the sheen off the surface of the tube. When the cement was properly tacky, the two glued surfaces were stuck together and then the tube was sound and the tube and patch were the same material so the stretch compatibility meant a real long lasting bond. If the casing damage was tiny, the a cross of J&J or B&B white medical bandage tape was stuck in the inside of the casing to keep foriegn matter out, If cut was too largeso tube could bulge, then we took the strip off an old sew-up casing cut a couple inch section and glued it inside the casing. The double layer was trimmed off, so thickness was no problem, we tapered the edges again, and the contour was a perfect fit inside the casing, pressure, shape, all hunky-dory. Many times a 'boot' like this would outlast the life of the tire. I would recommend this type of boot material to all of you, sew-ups and clincher use alike. Make them in a few widths and put 'em in your take along kit, lite and perfect for the job. All throug the the '50's and even up to now the fastest and livliest tires have the light latex tubes, The puncture resistant latex tubes are quite expensive in contrast and don't sell that much. Kevlar belt and polymede layers have changed some of the flat tire problems. The light tubes all leak air, but if you want the most responsive ride, that's the property you live with. Some of the butyl tubes will hold air over a week without topping off, but the tires feel just a little less spry. During the 6-days tires had to be pumped twice, sometimes three times a day to keep them ready to ride. The lightest tires in the "classic" era, late '40's through early '80's were the yellow strip tires. They were down to 3/4 inch and were referred to as "onion skins" used by pusuiter and occasionally sprint finalists. The tires were only good for a few races before the natural rubber strip wore through, but they were faaast. Seeing as we're talking about track racing, tracks being referred to as saucers, I'll finish with a somewhat saucy anecdote. It's not necessary to read on.
The standing joke among riders in the fabulous fifties was that the tubes in the light racing tires resembled rubber johnnies. Bike riders being somewhat on the wild side were wondering if a condom wasn't handy maybe a section of thin rubber would be a good substitute. Tie a knot at the end, cut off the appropriate length and VOILA, instant french tickler! Some of the guys thought we should make them up and stock them in the higher end shops. It never did happen, much to some of the riders' disappointment. With that stretch of your imagination, I bid you adieu. Ted Ernst Palos Verdes Estates, CA